Daniel R. Soto
(on leave S25) Chair, School of Applied Human and Environ. Sciences, Associate Professor
Contact
707-664-2430
[email protected]
Office
Stevenson Hall 3729Office Hours
On Leave for the Spring 2025 semester
Assistant Professor Daniel Soto comes to SSU from Columbia University, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Earth Institute working on solar micro-grids in Mali and Uganda. Daniel earned his PhD in Applied Physics at Stanford University. He also has an MS in Physics from San Francisco State University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to his return to academia, Daniel worked as an engineer at two startup companies creating optical micromechanical devices for laser displays and optical communications.
Education
PhD Applied Physics, Stanford University, 2010
MS Physics, San Francisco State University, 2004
BS Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1994
Academic Interests
Daniel's teaching interests are in energy efficiency and energy generation. He enjoys teaching both large-scale issues involving energy and analysis of small-scale energy systems. The potential for energy efficient technologies and approaches to improve human wellbeing motivates his research. In the developing world, he investigates new approaches to lower economic barriers to energy access and how energy efficient appliances can lower the cost of energy access. Daniel is also interested in the use of computation and communication technologies to impact energy problems and disseminate information.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Tarr, S.W., Brunner, J.S., Soto, D. and Goldman, D.I., 2023. Fluid surface self-propulsion via confined Hocking radiation fields. arXiv preprint arXiv:2305.04390.
Chong, B., He, J., Soto, D., Wang, T., Irvine, D., Blekherman, G. and Goldman, D.I., 2023. Multilegged matter transport: A framework for locomotion on noisy landscapes. Science, 380(6644), pp.509-515.
Chong, B., He, J., Li, S., Erickson, E., Diaz, K., Wang, T., Soto, D. and Goldman, D.I., 2023. Self-propulsion via slipping: Frictional swimming in multilegged locomotors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(11), p.e2213698120.
Shen, Z., Avinery, R., Bagheri, H., Soto, D. and Goldman, D., 2023. Emergent swarm robot behaviors induced by confinement and contact interactions. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
He, J., Chong, B., Li, S., Erickson, E., Diaz, K., Wang, T., Soto, D. and Goldman, D., 2023. Terrestrial swimming in multilegged robots. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
Chong, B., He, J., Soto, D., Wang, T., Irvine, D. and Goldman, D., 2023. A Shannon-inspired framework for multi-legged matter transport. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
Bagheri, H., Caine, P., Soto, D., Goodisman, M. and Goldman, D., 2023. The Use of Laser Speckle Spectroscopy for Subtle Detection of Infantile Ants. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
Vardhan, A., Jha, A., Soto, D., Avinery, R., Rocklin, Z. and Goldman, D., 2023. Gait induced self-organization in shape changing active matter. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
Diaz, K., Erickson, E., Chong, B., Soto, D. and Goldman, D.I., 2023. Active and passive mechanics for rugose terrain traversal in centipedes. Journal of Experimental Biology, 226(4), p.jeb244688
Daniel Soto "A consumer-centered analysis of solar lantern purchase", IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose, CA 2014.
Mitchell Lee, Daniel Soto, Vijay Modi, "Cost Versus Reliability Sizing Strategy for Isolated Photovoltaic Micro-grids in the Developing World" Renewable Energy, 2014
Daniel Soto, Vijay Modi, "Simulations of Efficiency Improvements using Measured Microgrid Data," IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA 2012.
Achintya Madduri, Javier Rosa, Daniel Soto "Efficient Microgrid Management System for Electricity Distribution in Emerging Regions," IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA 2012.
Daniel Soto, Matt Basinger, et. al., "A Prepaid Architecture for Solar Electricity Delivery in Rural Areas," International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, Atlanta, GA 2012. (doi:10.1145/2160673.2160691)